acn The Inquirer Building, formerly the acn Elverson acn Building, the home of the newspaper from 1924-2011 acn After Elverson's death in 1911, his son by his wife Sallie Duvall, acn James Elverson Jr. took charge. Under Elverson Jr., the newspaper continued to grow, eventually needing to move again. Elverson Jr. bought land at Broad and Callowhill Streets and built the eighteen-story Elverson Building, now known as the Inquirer Building. The first Inquirer issue printed at the building came out on July 13, 1925. Elverson Jr. died a few years later in 1929 and his sister, Eleanor Elverson, Mrs. Jules PatenÃ´tre, took over.[5] acn acn See also: Inquirer Buildingput up for sale. C acn yrus Curtis and acn Curtis-Martin Newspapers Inc. bought the newspaper on March 5, 1930.[6] Curtis died a year later and his stepson-in-law, John Charles Martin, took charge. Martin merged The Inquirer with another paper, the Public Ledger, but the Great Depression hurt Curtis-Martin Newspapers and the company defaulted in payments of maturity notes. Subsequently ownership of The Inquirer returned to the PatenÃ´tre family and Elverson Corp.[7] Charles A. Taylor was elected president of The Inquirer Co. and ran the paper until it was sold to Moses L. Annenberg in 1936. During the period between Elverson Jr. and Annenberg The Inquirer stagnated, its editors ignoring most of the poor economic news of the Depression. The lack of growth allowed J. David Stern's newspaper, The Philadelphia Record, to surpass The Inquirer in circulation and become the largest newspaper in Pennsylvania.[2][8] acn acn U acn nder Moses Annenberg, The Inquirer acn turned around. acn Annenberg added new features, increased staff and held promotions to increase circulation. By acn November 1938 Inquirer's weekday circulation increased to 345,422 from 280,093 in 1936. During that same period the Record's circulation had dropped to 204,000 from 328,322. In 1939, Annenberg was charged with income tax evasion. Annenberg pleaded guilty before his trial and was sent to prison where he died in 1942. Upon Moses Annenberg's death, his son, Walter Annenberg, took over. Not long after, in 1947, the Record went out of business and The Philadelphia Inquirer became Philadelphia's only major daily morning newspaper. While still trailing behind Philadelphia's largest newspaper, the Evening Bulletin, The Inquirer continued to be profitable. In 1948, Walter Annenberg expanded the Inquirer Building with a new structure that housed new printing presses for The Inquirer and, during the 1950s and 1960s, Annenberg's other properties, Seventeen and TV Guide.[5] In 1957 Annenberg bought the Philadelphia Daily News and combined the Daily News' facilities with The Inquirer's. A acn thirty-eight day strike in 1958 hurt acn The Inquirer and, after the strike ended, so many reporters had accepted buyout offers and left that the newsroom was noticeably empty. Furthermore, many current reporters had been copyclerks just before the strike and had little experience. One of the few star reporters of the 1950s and 1960s was investigative reporter Harry Karafin. During his career Harry Karafin exposed corruption and other exclusive stories for The Inquirer, but also extorted money out of individuals and organizations. Karafin would claim he had harmful information and would demand money in exchange for the information not being made public.[8] This went on from the late 1950s into the early 1960s before Karafin was exposed in 1967 and convicted of extortion a year later. By the end of the 1960s, circulation and advertising revenue was in decline and the newspaper had become, according to Time magazine, "uncreative and undistinguished."[9] acn C acn orporate ownership[edit] acn acn stagnated, its editors ignoring most of the poor economic news of the Depression. The lack of growth allowed J. David Stern's newspaper, The Philadelphia Record, to surpass The Inquirer in circulation and become the largest newspaper in Pennsylvania.[2][8] acn Under Moses Annenberg, The Inquirer acn turned around. acn Annenberg added new features, increased staff and held promotions to increase circulation. By November 1938 Inquirer's weekday circulation increased to 345,422 from 280,093 in 1936. During that same period the Record's circulation had dropped to 204,000 from 328,322. In 1939, Annenberg was charged with income tax evasion. Annenberg pleaded guilty before his trial and was sent to prison where he died in 1942. Upon Moses Annenberg's death, his son, Walter Annenberg, took over. Not long after, in 1947, the Record went out of business and The Philadelphia Inquirer became Philadelphia's only major daily morning newspaper. While still trailing behind Philadelphia's largest newspaper, the Evening Bulletin, The Inquirer continued to be profitable. In 1948, Walter Annenberg expanded the Inquirer Building with a new structure that housed new printing presses for The Inquirer and, during the 1950s and 1960s, Annenberg's other properties, Seventeen and TV Guide.[5] In 1957 Annenberg bought the Philadelphia Daily News and combined the Daily News' facilities with The Inquirer's. acn acn acn acn A t acn hirty-eight day strike in 1958 acn hurt The Inquirer and, after the strike ended, so many reporters had accepted buyout offers and left that the newsroom was noti acn ceably empty. Furthermore, many current reporters had been copyclerks just before the strike and had little experience. One of the few star reporters of the 1950s and 1960s was investigative reporter Harry Karafin. During his career Harry Karafin exposed corruption and other exclusive stories for The Inquirer, but also extorted money out of individuals and organizations. Karafin would claim he had harmful information and would demand money in exchange for the information not being made public.[8] This went on from the late 1950s into the early 1960s before Karafin was exposed in 1967 and convicted of extortion a year later. By the end of the 1960s, circulation and advertising revenue was in decline and the newspaper had become, according to Time magazine, "uncreative and undistinguished."[9] acn In 1969 Annenberg was offered US$55 mi acn llion for The Inquirer by Sa acn muel Newhouse, but having earlier promised John S. Knight the right of first refusal of any sale offer, Annenberg sold it to Knight instead. The Inquirer, along with the Philadelphia Daily News, became part of Knight Newspapers and its new subsidiary, Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. Five years later, Knight Newspapers merged with Ridder Publications to form Knight Ridder. acn acn When The Inquirer was bought, it was acn understaffed, its equ acn ipment was outdated, many of its employees were underskilled and the paper trailed its chief competitor, the Evening Bulletin, in weekday circulation. However, Eugene L. Roberts Jr., who became The Inquirer's executive editor in 1972, turned the newspaper around. Between 1975 and 1990 The Inquirer won seventeen Pulitzers, six consecutively between 1975 and 1980, and more journalism awards than any other newspaper in the United States. Time magazine chose The Inquirer as one of the ten best daily newspapers in the United States, calling Roberts' changes to the paper, "one of the most remarkable turnarounds, in quality and profitability, in the history of American journalism."[9] By July 1980 The Inquirer had become the most circulated paper in Philadelphia, forcing the Evening Bulletin to shut down two years later. The Inquirer's success was not without hardships. Between 1970 and 1985 the newspaper experienced eleven strikes, the longest lasting forty-six days in 1985. The Inquirer was also criticized for covering "Karachi better than Kensington".[9] This did not stop the paper's growth during the 1980s, and when the Evening Bulletin shut down, The Inquirer hired seventeen Bulletin reporters and doubled its bureaus to attract former Bulletin readers.[10] By 1989 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.'s editorial staff reached a peak of 721 employees. acn . The decline was part of a nationwide trend, but the effects were exacerbated by, according to dissatisfied Inquirer employees, the paper's resisting changes that many other daily newspapers implemented to keep readers and pressure from Knight Ridder to cut costs.[11] During most of Roberts's time as editor, Knight Ridder allowed him a great deal of freedom in running the newspaper. However, in the late 1980s, Knight Ridder had become concerned about The Inquirer's profitability and took a more active role in its operations. Knight Ridder pressured The Inquirer to expand into the more profitable suburbs, while at the same time cutting staff and coverage of national and international stories.[10] Staff cuts continued until Knight Ridder was bought in 2006, with some of The Inquirer's best reporters accepting buyouts and leaving for other newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. By the late 1990s, all of the high level editors who had worked with Eugene Roberts in the 1970s and 1980s had left, none at normal retirement age. Since the 1980s, the paper has won just one Pulitzer, a 1997 award for "Explanatory Journalism."[12] In 1998 Inquirer reporter Ralph Cipriano filed a libel suit against Knight Ridder, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Inquirer editor Robert Rosenthal over comments Rosenthal made about Cipriano to The Washington Post. Cipriano had claimed that it was difficult reporting negative stories in The Inquirer about the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia[13] and Rosenthal later claimed that Cipriano had "a very strong personal point of view and an agenda...He could never prove [his stories]."[14] The suit was later settled out of court in 2001. K acn night Ridder was bought by rival The acn McClatchy C acn ompany in June 2006. The Inquirer and acn the Philadelphia Daily News were among the twelve less-profitable Knight Ridder newspapers that McClatchy put up for sale when the deal was announced in March.[15] On June 29, 2006, The Inquirer and Daily News were sold to Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, a group of Philadelphian area business people, including Brian P. Tierney, Philadelphia Media's chief executive. The new owners planned to spend US$5 million on advertisements and promotions to increase The Inquirer's profile and readership.[16] In the years following Philadelphia Media acn Holding's acq acn uisition, The Inquirer has seen larger than expected revenue losses, mostly fr acn om n acn ational advert acn ising, and continued loss of circulation. The revenue losses have caused management to cut four hundred jobs at The Inquirer and Daily News in the three years since the papers were bought.[17][18] Despite efforts to cut costs, Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on February 21, 2009. Philadelphia Media Holdings was about US$390 million in debt due to money borrowed to buy The Inquirer and Daily News.[19] The bankruptcy was the beginning of a year long dispute between Philadelphia Media Holdings and creditors. The group of creditors, which include banks and hedge funds, wanted to take control of Philadelphia Newspapers LLC themselves and oppose efforts by Philadelphia Media Holdings to keep control. Philadelphia Media Holdings received support form most of the paper's unions and launched a public relations campaign to promote local ownership.[20] A bankruptcy auction was held on April 28, 2010. The group of lending creditors and a group of local investors allied with Brian Tierney both bid for Philadelphia Newspapers, but the lenders had the winning bid.[21] The deal fell through after the group of lenders, under the name of Philadelphia Media Network, was unable to reach a contract agreement with the union representing the company's drivers.[22] Philadelphia Newspapers, represented by Lawrence G. McMichael of Dilworth Paxson LLP, challenged the right of creditors to credit bid at a bankruptcy auction. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that credit bidding was not permitted. The papers went up for auction again in September and again Philadelphia Media Network won the bid. After successfully negotiating a contract with all of the paper's fourteen unions, the US$139 million deal became official on October 8.[23][24] acn The acn Philadelphia Inquirer continued to s acn truggle t acn o make a profit due to competition from digital media sources. By May 2012 the combined journalist staff at all of Philadelphia Media Network was about 320 and some of the same stories and photographs appear both in The Inquirer and Daily News. On April 2, 2012 a group of local business leaders under the name of Interstate General Media LLC. The buyers paid $55 million for the paper, which is less than 15 percent of $515 million spent to buy the papers in 2006.[25] The Inquirer is now part of Philadelphia Media Network, LLC. PMN's owner is H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, who appointed C.Z. "Terry" Egger as Publisher and CEO in October 2015.[26] acn acn In acn October 2011 Philadelphia Media Network acn sold th acn e Inquirer Building to developer Bart Blat acn stein of Tower Investments Inc. who intends to turn the complex into a mixed use complex of offices retail and apartments. The next month publisher and CEO Gregory J. Osberg announced that 600 of the 740 Philadelphia Media Network employees of The Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com would move to office space in the former Strawbridge & Clothier department store on east Market Street. The remaining employees would move to offices in the suburbs. The Philadelphia Media Network moved to the new location in July 2012, consolidating the offices entirely on the third floor. Cutbacks had left much of the 525,000 square feet (49,000 m2) within the Inquirer Building empty but the 125,000-square-foot (12,000 m2) east Market Street location will consolidate Philadelphia Media's departments including the Daily News' newsroom with The Inquirer's. The new location will include a street level lobby and event room. Plans for the building also include electronic signage such as a news ticker on the corner of the high-rise.[27][28] P acn olitics[edit] acn acn acn When Norvell and Walker sold their newspaper to acn Jesper Ha acn rding, Harding kept the paper close to the founder's politics and backed the Democratic Party. However, disagreeing with Andrew Jackson's handling of the Second Bank of the United States he began supporting the anti-Jackson wing of the Democrats. During the 1836 Presidential election Harding supported the Whig party candidate over the Democratic candidate and afterwards The Inquirer became known for its support of Whig candidates.[2] Before the American Civil War began, The Inquirer supported the preservation of the Union, and was critical of the antislavery movement which many felt was responsible for the Southern succession crisis.[30] Once the war began The Inquirer maintained an independent reporting of the war's events.[5] However The Inquirer firmly supported the Union side. At first The Inquirer's editors were against emancipation of the slaves, but after setbacks by the Union army The Inquirer started advocating a more pro-war and pro-Republican stance. In a July 1862 article The Inquirer wrote "in this war there can be but two parties, patriots and traitors."[30] R acn epublican Bible[edit] acn newspaper, moved by all the wide-awake spirit of the time and behind in nothing of interest to people who want to know what is going on every day and everywhere...steadily and vigorously Republican in its political policy, but just and fair in its treatment of all questions..."[5] During the 1900 Republican convention in Philadelphia, Elverson set up a large electric banner over Broad Street that declared "Philadelphia Inquirer â" Largest Republican Circulation in the World."[2] At the turn of the 20th century the newspaper began editorial campaigns to improve Philadelphia, including the paving of major streets and stopping a corrupt plan to buy the polluted Schuylkill Canal for drinking water. The newspaper continued similar politics under Elverson Jr., and by the 1920s The Inquirer became known as the "Republican Bible of Pennsylvania".[5] B acn etween 1929 and 1936, while under Patenotre and acn Curtis-M acn rtin, The I acn nquirer continued to support the Republican party and President Herbert Hoover, noticeably by not reporting on the news of the Great Depression. Statistics on unemployment or business closings were ignored, even when they came from the government. Information about Philadelphia banks closing was relegated to the back of the financial section. When Moses Annenberg took over The Philadelphia Inquirer, he announced that the paper would "continue to uphold the principles of the Republican Party," but in a meeting with newspaper editors shortly after, he proposed that the paper go independent and support President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the upcoming election. The editors rejected this idea and the paper remained Republican. In the late 1930s Annenberg disagreed with Roosevelt's New Deal programs and his handling of strikes. This prompted editorials criticizing the policies of Roosevelt and his supporters. He strongly opposed Democratic Pennsylvania governor George Earle and had The Inquirer support the Republican candidates in the 1938 Pennsylvania state elections. When Republicans swept the election there was a celebration at The Inquirer headquarters with red flares and the firing of cannons. The attacks against Democrats and the support given towards Republicans caught the attention of the Roosevelt administration. Annenberg had turned The Philadelphia Inquirer into a major challenger to its chief competitor the Democratic Record, and after Annenberg began focusing on politics, Democratic politicians often attacked Annenberg and accused him of illegal business practices. In 1939 Annenberg was charged with income tax evasion, pled guilty before the trial, and was sent to prison for three years. Annenberg's friends and his son, Walter, claimed that the whole trial was politically motivated and his sentence was harsher than it should have been.[8] acn